shawnm Posted March 8, 2015 Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 Hey everyone, Im just getting into woodworking. I want to do a rustic type kitchen table for my wife. My question is what is the strongest or best option for joining the long grain to long grain lengths of wood. I'm not entirely sure on the dimensions yet but want to fit 8-10 ppl comfortably. I can't see biscuits being strong enough. Do you do tongue and groove? small mortise and tenons (floating tenon)? Thanks for your input. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted March 8, 2015 Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 You don't need any additional reinforcement. The long-grain to long-grain glue bond is strong enough on its own as long as your boards are straight, your joints are clean, and your edges are a perfect 90*. Clamp sufficiently and the joint will be stronger than the wood itself. You can use biscuits to help with alignment, and that's recommended, but they're not necessary for strength. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted March 8, 2015 Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 Welcome to the forums Shawn! Eric offers solid advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted March 8, 2015 Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 Welcome, Shawn. Eric's advice is spot on, but using tongue & groove or ship lap joints may give you more of a 'rustic' appearance by delineating the boards. Certainly not necessary for strength. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted March 8, 2015 Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 Welcome to the forum Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janello Posted March 8, 2015 Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 Hi Shawn. Also, when you clamp up the top, It's a good idea to staggar your clamps one up, one down on such a large glue up That will help balance the clamp pressure and prevent cupping. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byrdie Posted March 8, 2015 Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 Agreeing with Eric - long grain to long grain edge glue up is strong enough and additions like biscuits only aid in alignment. On the other hand, I've been working on a "rustic" dining table for a little bit and I've used tongue and groove just because. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawnm Posted March 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 Thanks a lot guys. So just normal wood glue? Or it's there a stronger wood glue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stobes21 Posted March 8, 2015 Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 Some wood glues are theoretically stronger than others. Within the titebond line, for example, 3 is stronger than 2 and 2 is stronger than 1. But pretty much all the modern wood glues form a bond stronger than the wood itself anyway, so the wood will break before the glue bond regardless of which glue is used. So use whatever you have or best suits the application in terms of water resistance, open time, usability, cost, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawnm Posted March 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 Thanks a lot I'll let you know how I make out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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